During the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) investigation into the Ford carbon monoxide allegations, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) identified additional Vehicle Owner Questionnaire (VOQ) reports with similar exhaust odor claims. Presently, ODI has identified 791 VOQs for Model Year 2011-2017 Ford Explorers pertaining to exhaust odor claims. ODI has identified three crashes and 41 injuries potentially linked this issue. The reported injuries range from unspecified to loss of consciousness, with the majority being nausea, headaches, or dizziness – all of which can be symptomatic of carbon monoxide exposure. Additionally, Ford provided 2,400 reports including owner complaints, warranty claims, dealer field reports, and legal claims, that involve 2,051 vehicles that may be connected to the exhaust odor issue. NHTSA’s Vehicle Test and Research Center tested multiple vehicles, including complaint vehicles, during the investigation. ODI also conducted field inspections of complaint vehicles and crashes involving police units that occurred while the officers were on duty. When possible, data was collected to quantify carbon monoxide levels in the examined vehicles. Based on the information gathered to date, NHTSA upgraded this investigation to an Engineering Analysis (EA17-002).

EA17-002 Ford Explorer Exhaust OdorOpened July 27, 2017 – Present

ODI opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE) 16-008 in July of 2016 after receiving 154 Vehicle Owner Questionnaire (VOQ) reports reporting exhaust odors in the vehicle occupant compartment of model year (MY) 2011 to 2015 Ford Explorers, which included one low speed crash event without injury. During the course of the PE, ODI identified additional VOQ reports concerning the exhaust odor issue, totaling 791 as of this writing. The complaints cover MY 2011 to 2017 Explorers. Eleven of the reports involve Police Interceptor vehicles, as do two other non-VOQ incidents ODI identified during PE16-008. Overall, ODI has identified three crash events and 25 injury incidents citing a total of 41 injuries. The alleged injuries, as affirmatively indicated on the VOQ reports, range from unspecified to loss of consciousness, with the majority indicating nausea, headaches, or light headedness. One police incident alleged a crash with related injuries, and a second police incident reported a physiological injury allegedly from carbon monoxide (CO) exposure. Another reported police incident resulted in a rollover crash event with injuries.